Sentient Energy and Alabama Power: A Groundbreaking Solution to Enhance Fault Location Accuracy and Speed up Restoration Process

Together Sentient Energy and Alabama Power are first to distinguish ground faults using advanced analytics and intelligent line sensors to increase fault location accuracy 

Frisco, TX – February 15, 2024 – Sentient Energy, provider of industry-leading grid solutions and services that enable data-driven decisions for the enhancement of safe, reliable, and efficient power delivery, announced today a major upgrade to their Ample™ Analytics Platform.

This innovation marks a first in the industry - a solution specifically designed to identify ground faults utilizing autonomous line sensors. This new feature significantly improves the accuracy of fault location, setting a new standard in outage management procedures.

The capability was initially developed in conjunction with Alabama Power and implemented in a pilot program. Alabama Power has deployed over 2,000 intelligent line sensors and integrated sensor data into their Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) to refine distance-to-fault calculations.

By strategically placing three autonomous sensors at a location and utilizing the Ample platform to create a virtual three-phase device, Alabama Power can now accurately identify ground faults, well exceeding its target accuracy of 85%. This has enabled Alabama Power to improve their response and restoration times, boosting customer satisfaction.

“Until now, line sensing technology was unable to accurately identify ground faults, creating potential errors in distance-to-fault calculations that depended on fault data. Our successful pilot program with Alabama Power is a perfect example of how advanced analytics and sensor data improve the reliability and safety of power distribution," stated Bob Karschnia, CEO of Sentient Energy. He added, “we are thrilled with the success of this pilot and look forward to implementing these technologies on a broader scale to continue improving the reliability and safety of our power grids.”

Sentient Energy’s Ample™ Analytics Platform, in conjunction with intelligent line sensors, delivers data-driven insights and actionable intelligence. This solution not only predicts and prevents outages but also detects faults, reports fault magnitudes, and now, distinguishes ground faults.

This enhanced fault detection and location capability is a vital component of the fault location, isolation, and service restoration (FLISR) application, providing a swift value-add solution that reduces System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) and Customer Minutes Interrupted (CMI), ultimately improving customer experience during outages.